This invention relates to a cutting apparatus and is particularly directed to a cutting apparatus for slicing semiconductor materials into wafers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,623, which discloses a closed-loop saw having a continuous band with diamond powder cutting edge, comments on disadvantages inherent in several known techniques such as the scribe-and-break process, sawing with closed wire loops with abrasive slurries, and sawing with reciprocating blades with the workpiece stationary or moved into the saw blade, for severing semiconductor wafers into individual devices. Disadvantages commonly encountered include: difficulty in severing semiconductor materials, particularly friable and expensive materials, into small dies; the inability to produce consistently straight and planar cuts; crumbling of the sides of the cuts; the need for complex and expensive systems; and in the method of the above-mentioned patent, the formation of saw marks on cut surfaces.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a cutting apparatus for precision slicing of semiconductor materials with a minimum of kerf loss yielding smooth cut surfaces substantially free of saw marks which normally do not require subsequent lapping.